Abnormalities and Hatred
by Confused Bypasser
Summary: Amu's life has been a struggle since she was born. She isn't normal in her world she's from, normal is perfection. To be abnormal is to search for death. For a while she sticks to how things should be, she hides, runs, keeps her head down. However the world is changing, and with it the people must change to. (No set pairing, T for language and action.)
**Amu's life has been a struggle since she was born. She isn't normal in her world she's from, normal is perfection. To be abnormal is to search for death. For a while she sticks to how things should be, she hides, runs, keeps her head down. However the world is changing, and with it the people must change to.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

It was as if life itself had lost all meaning, here eyes were strained wide in fear, she'd repeatedly tried to scream though her voice only ever served to fail her. The metallic stench that clung to the air mixed with smoke, effectively gagging her. Chaos ensued and she was left to stare in shock, surely the world wasn't really this lost, this demented. Something had to be amiss. Perhaps it was a nightmare. But no, the sting of her lungs from the inhalation of smoke assured her that this was actually happening. The world was falling apart as she crouch afraid, confused, lost, choking.

 _Move._ Her legs remained bent and routed in place as her eyes remained transfixed on the flickering infernos steadily gaining more ground around her. She could barely make out the figures on the other sides of them. Sound vanished from the world replaced by eerie silence as things still had yet to be fully realized as actually ongoing. _We need to move._ Again that voice shrieked within her mind, pleading. Seemingly forbidding her from remaining where she was. Within the reaches of any and all who would do her harm. But her limbs didn't listen. Terror had over taken them and clung to her body like a sickness. Only to be purged with a proper remedy. She had to escape, she knew she had to.

A blast of wind from behind her jolted her back to reality. The crash of a home being returned to rubble. Shakily she stood, her head pivoting to the destruction. On the other side were men who chanted and cheered excitedly. They laughed and jabbed at people who ran, desperately trying to escape from death.

Where her legs had refused to act before, finally they were put in motion. Racing away from the danger, dragging her to move forward as fast as possible, willing her to survive. Her mouth had begun to open for a scream, but it clamped shut. Who would come? Everyone was fighting. No one would stop because of her cries. And screaming would only garner more attention then she probably already had. She could certainly hope that no one had spotted her. That no one would notice her chasing that bit of life that she prayed still waited for her. But even she knew that hope was futile. And not long after her run began she heard shouts that must have been directed at her, followed by the sound of feet sprinting and the clop of a horse's hooves. Her throat and lungs screamed for her to stop. Her body ached from all the smoke she'd breathed and it was impeding her ability to make an escape. It was only moments before the horse blew past her, stopping and causing her to slow so she wouldn't run into it. She turned to flea but soldiers blocked her route to freedom. She cowered, not wanting to show fear to these monsters but knowing she couldn't control a natural reaction to this sort of thing.

Hands latched onto her arms and she flailed, screaming in a hoarse voice, her throat pained. Trying desperately to escape despite the fact that she was much smaller, and much weaker than her opponents. She turned, tearing her teeth into one of their arms and yanking. He reeled back screeching in agony as blood poured from the wound, dirtying her dress that was once white and now stained with smoke and crimson.

"Little bitch!" A soldier snarled and a hit to her face stunned her enough for them to gag her.

"Why not just kill her, save the trouble?"

"Young ones are worth far more than others. Especially young girls." The man on the horse said as he waited for them to drag the still fighting girl to him. He grabbed her by her hair, yanking her airborne. "She'll just need to be broken."

Her hand raked across his face and he threw her to the ground, clutching his nose while disgust placed on his face.

"Tie her and search for any others."

Two men stayed while the others went off to find anyone else within the village.

 _Escape. Run. Get away._ The same cries for freedom repeated through her mind as she frantically tried, and failed, to abscond. But the hands held her tight. what she was sure would be her fate left her feeling more choked than the smoke coated insides of her body made her feel. Her head spun as she began to realize just how weary she was, but she had to escape.

More cries. More sounds of pain. A crunch of breaking bones and confused shouts. Hands released her and she fell to her knees, crumpling in the dirt as only emptiness encircled her.

"Now is not the time to admit defeat little one."

Slowly she lifted her head as the ground was left behind. Someone held her in their arms and she heard the whinnies of the horse from the man in charge of the others. Armor was dropped from it's back and the person who held her swung onto the back of the animal, they raced away, the person's cloak blowing behind them as wind raced, whipping her locks against her face.

That was the first time she was able to see the face of the person who saved her, a woman.

"Don't cry darling, you are safe for now." The woman gave a gentle smile.

The young girl touched her hand to her cheek. As if becoming aware of the tears made the emotions clear she buried her face in the woman's abdomen, hugging her tightly and crying. Anger, loneliness, fear, emptiness, and grief all intermingled. _Where's mama and papa? Why didn't they come fore me?_ She sobbed, barely noticing the woman tense at her touch.

XxX

As night fell the two came to a stop in the woods. They'd veered from the path in an attempt to remain hidden from any who would approach. The woman pulled the saddle and reigns off the horse, letting it race away. Most likely to keep it from being recognizable.

The girl's crying had left her dehydrated and drained even more. She hadn't been able to sleep despite her weariness.

"Drink." The woman commanded as she handed the girl a flask. The girl graciously took it, not bothering to question anything. She was too far out of it to bother. Her eyes were distant as she remained trapped in the past. "You need to stop thinking about what happened today." The woman told her. "It will burden you and make it harder for you to live."

The girl gave no response, she didn't even acknowledge the woman's presence. The woman released a huff of air, retrieving her flask to take a swig. They sat in awkward silence, the woman carefully reading over the maps she'd gathered, pulling out some bread for the two to share. The woods were eerie and they calls of the various creatures within it left the girl feeling more terrified than she had in the hands of the men. Though the creatures didn't invoke the same feeling of emptiness the men had.

For the millionth time that day she wondered where her parents had gone. She wondered if they'd been killed. She wondered if they were being sold. A coolness fell over the forest and the woman dropped her cloak over the girl. The forest became even more foreboding.

"Tomorrow before we start off again we will have to cut you're hair." She said calmly. "It sticks out like a sore thumb."

Again the girl gave no response. She simply curled up in the cloak. Eyes clenching shut, trying to forgot the day had ever happened. Hoping it was a nightmare and she'd wake up back in her bed crying for her parents, a cry they'd answer. Leaves littered the ground and they crinkled beneath her as she turned over her hands absentmindedly rubbed her bruised wrists.

"What's your name?" The woman asked.

The girl blinked, eyes distant still. "Amu."

The woman smiled. "A lovely name for a lovely girl. Well hello Amu, I am Souko." The woman's gentle smile in the darkening forest was the last thing Amu saw as she drifted into slumber.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **(Ten Years Later)**

Keep your head down, guard up, don't be suspicious. Rules Amu attempted to abide by wherever she went. Her hood was drawn over her head as she leaned onto a wooden cane. She slouched low keeping her hood drawn over her eyes as she limped along. Her vision slid around, surveying the area around her as she slid unnoticed through the crowd. With a mud caked face and less they memorable attire she was as forgettable as every commoner. Something hard smacked her shoulder and she stumbled forward a few feet. Catching her balance once more.

"Ugh, now I have to clean the filth." A man's annoyed voice carried, Amu's gaze drifted to him, her hood still low, she could make out glinting, freshly crafted armor. Without a dent or mar in sight. Not even the supposed 'filth' was visible. The man's posse curled their lips at Amu. "Watch your walk hag." The man sneered.

"My apologies." Amu said in a raspy voice as she turned, forcing down a scoff. A knight in shining armor. No, a hunter. Obviously one who was bad at his job. She limped on her way. Her hair was dirty and matted with the same mud that dirtied the rest of her. The stench of all who inhabited the town overpowered Amu's senses, her bag was hidden beneath her cloak as she shuffled calmly back to her home for the month. Many other's in the streets bumped into her without a second glance. Some shopkeepers called to those who passed by, attempting to show their items to the public. Hoping to seem appealing. Amu keep her vision straight.

As much as she didn't want to, she kept thinking back to the hunter she'd bumped into. If hunters were showing up within the town it could only mean trouble. And Souko would want to book it as soon as humanly possible. A smile danced to Amu's lips, humanly. How ironic.

In the ten years she'd known Souko it had always been safety first. Have care in your actions because they always have results and consequences. It was a message drilled into Amu's head. And it had become a natural part of her. No longer did she question it, she just did as she was expected to do. Souko knew best, it was how she'd been able to survive for as long as she had.

Souko also taught Amu how to use your good given gifts to get information out of people, but with Amu's unique appearance quality, seduction was mostly ruled out since it could lead to what would most likely be incarceration, death, or possible kidnapping. Somethings neither of them wanted.

Rounding a corner she shambled up the steps, rapping her cane against the heavy wooden door. The knock consisted off a melody that the two had frequently changed to keep themselves on top of things but keep all others who listened in at an arms length.

The door creaked open allowing Amu to slip in before it shut behind her. She straightened placing the cane to the side and handing over the bag to the waiting woman.

Souko quickly pulled it open, smiling as she nodded at the ingredients. "Perfect. It should be finished tomorrow."

"Perfect." Amu parroted sarcastically. "I'm going to wash up."

"Anything happen when you went to get all this?" Souko called as she prepared her concoction.

"A few new marketers. Rumors about uprisings in the East. Seraph was burned down last week." Amu repeated things she heard from the people in the market, things she'd seen.

"Uprising's in the east have been ongoing for the last three years." Souko called, skillfully informing Amu that the information was less than interesting or exciting.

"Got me there." Amu called back. She bent over a water basin and used a rough cloth to rub the gunk from her face.

"Anything else?"

Amu finished washing off before she spoke again. "I ran into a hunter outside the pub. It wasn't an eventful encounter, he mostly just told me to piss off. But he was finely dressed, so I'm assuming he was a big deal."

"Damn it." Souko hissed from her pot.

"So it's a good thing this stuff is almost done." Amu stated as she entered the kitchen, her tanned skin clearly seen now. She leaned against the doorway. "Should I start packing?"

"Rest then start." Souko said. "We'll leave at midday tomorrow. Thank you for getting this for me."

Amu gave a nod. Leaving the kitchen to lie down in the other room for a brief rest. She'd run all over town to get what she needed. And she had been for the past three days. Never going to the same shop twice, always needing to stake out to find the perfect ingredients for the potions. Her eyes slipped shut, her wet hair clung to her face, strawberry pink locks that would never look remotely natural. They always stuck out like a sore thumb and it was what always made her the subject of discussion in towns when people discovered this abnormality. The sign that she was a witch.

Just as Souko was. Just as many in her childhood village had been before they'd all been either captured or killed. She'd never asked about their fates and didn't think she really wanted to know anyway.

Tomorrow they'd start moving again to stay ahead of the hunters as they had been for the past ten years.


End file.
